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Hellish

Hellish

Daniel Whelan & Alex Gale 122 episodes Latest May 31, 2026

Welcome to Hellish, the only podcast that comes to you from Hell's waiting room. In each episode, Hell's receptionist Daniel Whelan and Satan's tea boy Alex Gale interrogate a newly damned soul, asking them for the five songs they will meet in Hell: the music that we will use to torment them for all eternity. The condemned take us through songs they are embarrassed to have once liked; songs they can't stand that are otherwise universally adored; songs that remind them of bad times; songs they hate by artists they love; and songs that once stuck in their heads, they can never get out. Logo drawn by Nick Roche.

Episodes

Daisy Buchanan, writer Jun 7, 2026 1:04:45 Writer DAISY BUCHANAN gives us the five tracks she will meet in Hell!Daisy tells us all about her new novel, All Grown Up, which is a modern British reimagining of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. We also talk about tribute bands, indie sleaze, what all the cool kids at the Tory Party Conference listen to, and the ahem suggestive number one record that was bouncing round her head when she had to
James Errington (Centuries of Sound), sound artist May 31, 2026 1:08:57 Sound artist, and creator of Centuries of Sound, JAMES ERRINGTON gives us the five tracks he will meet in Hell!James tells us all about his fascinating Centuries of Sound project, in which he has been producing an audio collage for every year of recorded sound, which goes back a lot further than you'd think and involves a pig, some ink, and a misguided Frenchman. We also get to hear about the pass
Rose Ruane, writer May 24, 2026 1:07:36 Writer and artist ROSE RUANE gives us the five tracks she will meet in Hell!Rose talks about moving between art and writing; her love of Manic Street Preachers; the time she walked out of a job AND she names one song in particular a "C*nts' Charter", so that's worth the price of listening alone. (Listening is free. But why not support us on Patreon anyway?)Find Rose on Instagram and BlueSky Get he
Catie Wilkins, comedian & author May 17, 2026 1:02:36 Comedian and author CATIE WILKINS gives us the five tracks she will meet in Hell!Catie talks about settling scores in comedy and children's fiction; moving away from stand up and then coming back to it; being lampooned by Steve Martin; and she reveals very incorrect opinions about one of the five tracks she's chosen, according to Daniel anyway. Oh, and she talks about the time she got done for att
Pete Astor, musician May 10, 2026 1:05:15 The Loft frontman PETE ASTOR gives us the five tracks he will meet in Hell!Pete told us all about The Loft's new album, Badges, as well as the forty year gap between the band releasing their second single and their first album. We talked about the band's very public end on stage in Hammersmith in 1985, their reunion, and - believe it or not - their favoured choice of travel tavern.Get Badges by th
REDEMPTION SONGS #1: Valerie Phillips Jan 1, 2026 56:37 Happy New Year!In this special New Year episode, Alex and Daniel are sent to purgatory to cover holidays. There, they must sit in judgement as a former damned soul offers up their REDEMPTION SONGS in an attempt to escape Hell!They are reunited with the photographer VALERIE PHILLIPS, who was the guest on episode 16 of Hellish (which you will find here). Valerie has three songs with which to convinc
Valerie Phillips, photographer (Extended Patreon Version) Dec 29, 2025 1:16:26 This is a sort-of repeat of one of our favourite episodes, episode sixteen with photographer Valerie Phillips, which originally went out on August 5th 2024. It’s a sort-of repeat, because what we’re putting out today is actually the Patreon version of the episode, so you’ll be getting the ‘Artist in Hell’ section instead of adverts in the middle. If you just want to hear the Patreon bit, skip
24th Dec 2025: Casper & Pam Dec 24, 2025 9:24 The Hellish Advent Calendar is ending! Every day in the run up to Christmas we’ve been resurrecting former guests and forcing an extra song on to their Infernal Playlists: a Christmas song they cannot stand.The final door of the Advent Calendar of Doom creaks open today, to reveal singing sensations CASPER & PAM, who originally joined us for episode 41. (Which was also the first anniversary of
23rd Dec 2025: Alexander Wolfe Dec 23, 2025 9:37 The Hellish Advent Calendar is back! Every day in the run up to Christmas we’re resurrecting former guests and forcing an extra song on to their Infernal Playlists: a Christmas song they cannot stand.Today we welcome back musician ALEXANDER WOLFE, who originally joined us for episode 54. You can pre-order Alexander’s new album EVERYTHINGLESSNESS here https://alexanderwolfe.bandcamp.com/album/
22nd Dec 2025: Laura Checkley Dec 22, 2025 11:56 The Hellish Advent Calendar is back! Every day in the run up to Christmas we’re resurrecting former guests and forcing an extra song on to their Infernal Playlists: a Christmas song they cannot stand.Today we welcome back actor LAURA CHECKLEY, who originally joined us for episode 65. You can catch Laura in Dope Girls, now on iPlayer in the UK. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0028c6h/d
21st Dec 2025: Oliver Lansley Dec 21, 2025 11:08 The Hellish Advent Calendar is back! Every day in the run up to Christmas we’re resurrecting former guests and forcing an extra song on to their Infernal Playlists: a Christmas song they cannot stand.Today we welcome back writer OLIVER LANSLEY, who originally joined us for episode 46. Oliver’s show, Where’s Wanda?, is on Apple TV https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/wheres-wanda/umc.cmc.k92ure4ft8lmb
20th Dec 2025: Ray Heffernan Dec 20, 2025 7:38 The Hellish Advent Calendar is back! Every day in the run up to Christmas we’re resurrecting former guests and forcing an extra song on to their Infernal Playlists: a Christmas song they cannot stand.Today we welcome back songwriter RAY HEFFERNAN, who originally joined us for episodes 44 and 45. Find Ray on instagram here https://www.instagram.com/rayjheffernan/Come back tomorrow for the open

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